It is well known to provide instant coffee powders to consumers. Consumers of soluble coffee enjoy a great tasting product with the benefit of convenient preparation, compared to a drip filter machine. Many consumers of roast and ground coffee are not willing to sacrifice the perceived taste benefits of the drip filter machine and switch to soluble coffee.
In recent years there have been significant strides in improving the quality of spray dried and freeze dried soluble coffee products. For example, the use of finely milled roast and ground coffee as an additive has allowed consumers to enjoy the experience of roast and ground coffee as part of a soluble coffee. The mouthfeel of such products differ from conventional soluble coffees due to the presence of the finely milled roast and ground particles. These particles are insoluble and they introduce their inherent oil into the soluble coffee, which typically does not contain oil. It is known from espresso drinks that the fine oil particulates, as achieved by high pressure espresso extraction, contribute positively to mouthfeel.
It is also known to introduce coffee oils into the packaging (on the lid, for example) for freeze dried coffees. These oils are obtained by advanced aroma recovery techniques to derive coffee aroma (“Coloma”) which is then added back at very small percentages (standard at 0.03%, +1-0.02%, by weight) to the final jar. Spray dried coffee cannot use Coloma oil in this way since it would form a blob at the surface of the jar; for freeze dried coffee it is adsorbed into the coffee. This level of oil addition gives the initial perception of coffee aroma when the jar is opened, but is quickly lost upon multiple openings of the jar and it is diffused from the jar.
Despite these improvements in soluble coffee aroma, flavour and mouthfeel, some roast and ground consumers still reject these products due to their ‘dead’ appearance (small, dry, light coloured, dusty granules) whereas roast and ground coffee (R&G) is considered to have a more ‘alive’ appearance. The surface texture, colour, and appearance are hurdles that prevent some consumers from even trying soluble coffee. In order to provide a commercial soluble coffee product to these customers it is necessary to overcome these problems.